Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group cut its Yum! Brands stake by 33.5% in the third quarter, selling 9,699 shares and retaining 19,239 shares valued at about $2.62 million.
• Yum! reported quarterly EPS of $1.56, beating the $1.51 consensus; revenue was $2.05 billion, roughly flat with expectations and up 3.8% year over year.
• Insiders sold 4,288 shares worth about $666,000 over the past 90 days. Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with an average price target of $174.48.

AIA Group Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 33.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,239 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 9,699 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,186,811,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $740,462,000 after acquiring an additional 4,317,526 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $638,589,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $297,591,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $279,432,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 241 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.89, for a total transaction of $32,990.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares in the company, valued at $65,980.98. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total transaction of $552,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474. This trade represents a 99.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,288 shares of company stock worth $666,149. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 5.9%

YUM stock opened at $166.32 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $146.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.51. The stock has a market cap of $45.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.53. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.26 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.05 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 39.14% and a negative return on equity of 25.54%. The business's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is currently 37.74%.

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Yum reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.56, above analyst expectations. Revenue was about $2.05 billion—roughly in line with some estimates, though other reports cited a shortfall. Growth at KFC internationally helped offset pressure at Taco Bell. CNBC Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management says Taco Bell sales improved after a summer cyclospora outbreak hurt customer traffic, with the brand reportedly outperforming the broader quick-service restaurant industry since late September. Faster-than-expected recovery has also drawn favorable analyst attention. Wall Street Journal report on Taco Bell sales
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms raised price targets, including Citigroup to $171 and Deutsche Bank to $171; TD Cowen raised its target to $180 and maintained a buy rating. These moves indicate some analysts see further upside. Citigroup rating update
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum’s reported results included a substantial gain from the Pizza Hut divestiture, so investors may distinguish that one-time benefit from recurring operating performance. Q3 results and Pizza Hut divestiture
• Negative Sentiment: Taco Bell’s U.S. same-store sales fell 4% in Q3 amid the food-safety fallout, while KFC’s U.S. system sales declined 6%, showing that recovery is uneven despite international strength. QSR Magazine on KFC sales
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded YUM from hold to strong sell, a bearish counterpoint to the higher price targets. Zacks Research rating update

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus lowered Yum! Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $163.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $162.00 target price on the stock. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $174.48.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that operates, franchises and licenses quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. Its principal brands are KFC, which specializes in fried and other chicken products; Taco Bell, which offers Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which sells pizzas and related menu items; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual burger restaurant chain.

The company's business is primarily franchise-based, with restaurants operated by independent franchisees and licensees alongside company-operated locations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.